Weekly Highlights!

The students are working together in groups on several research projects so we will be doing some team building activities over the next few weeks. This week, the challenge, Magic Carpet, was to work as a team to flip over a "carpet" while standing on it! Afterwards, they reflected on what worked (or didn't) and how they communicated throughout the challenge.

In Science, we explored how insects' mouths have adapted to their food source. They simulated eating with different types of mouths to determine which ones were best for consuming its food.

We've started working in groups researching the Northeast Region of the United States. Each group will be creating a slideshow to present to their classmates. Before beginning to work in groups, several volunteers did a fantastic job demonstrating the skills needed for successful teamwork!

The class was SO excited to get letters from their new friends in Mexico!! Some of the letters were in Spanish so we learned how to use Google Translate. They can't wait to write back to their new friend!

Here are our dancers of the week!!

Weekly Update

One of the highlights of the week was the Chorus Concert! The students worked so hard to get ready for the performance and it showed!

We kicked off our new Life Science Animal Adaptation and Plant Structures unit with a Skype visit with the Buffalo Center of the West in Wyoming which highlighted the animals and habitat of the greater Yellowstone region. Everyone was very surprised to learn that Bighorned sheep have airbags in their head to protect their brains!

We also began the Regions of the United States unit with a Northeast Region presentation. The students will be researching each of the 5 regions and making presentations to the class.

Here are our Dancers of the Week!!

Hour of Code Link

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Highlights of Two Weeks in Room 21!

Happy New Year!! Can't believe it's 2020!!

Our dancer of the week before the break!!

One of the things the class REALLY enjoyed was the Hour of Code! This is a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming for students. Per their request, I'm adding the link to the Hour of Code site to this blog.

The class had a lot of fun making their holiday ornaments!!

In Reading, the students are learning how to identify the main idea and supporting details in nonfiction text. They'll be practicing this skill as they read about dogs. Based upon this research, they will be writing a persuasive essay about which dog would be a good pet for their family!

In Math, we have started our fractions unit and it's been really nice to see how much the students remember what they learned in 3rd grade about fractions! They really enjoyed using pattern blocks to fill a whole with different sized shapes. This helped to strengthen their understanding of how different, but equivalent fractions, take up the same amount of space.

In Science, we are wrapping up our Earth Science unit which included an activity that demonstrated how water can make significant changes to land over time. By creating a model of how a canyon is formed, they were able to see how landforms can be changed slowly.